Aussies' shock loss a 'good thing': Haynes

Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes has shrugged off suggestions Tuesday's thumping warm-up loss to New Zealand will cause a crisis of confidence on the eve of the World Cup.

Rather, Haynes believes Australia could not have asked for a better test as a bowling unit than the pummelling they received from Sophie Devine – who hit 161 not out from 117 balls – in their nine-wicket defeat at Lincoln's Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

Alana King claimed the sole wicket, that of Suzie Bates for 63, while No.3 Amelia Kerr's purple patch continued with 93 not out.

"I think it's a good thing to be put under the pump, particularly in a practice game," Haynes told reporters after play.

"That's really hard to contrive at training.

"Perhaps (it could give) different players the confidence to go to different plans earlier, and those sorts of things.

"I think that's the beauty of practice games - in normal training environments, you can't really contrive the same pressure as what you experience in a game."

Haynes said the Australian batting group had their own part to play in the defeat despite scoring 321 from 49.3 overs, saying she believed a total of 360-380 would have been closer to par given the prime batting conditions.

Four Australians passed fifty – Meg Lanning (87 from 86), Ashleigh Gardner (60 from 32), Alyssa Healy (64 from 71) and Beth Mooney (55 from 51) – but of those, only Gardner came close to the dominance of Devine.

"We probably just didn't quite finish off our batting innings as well as we would have liked," Haynes said.

"We had some really good half-centuries throughout the innings, which is pleasing that our batters had a hit, but there probably wasn't that match-winning innings.

"I thought New Zealand batted really well … it looked like they probably could have gone and got maybe 400.

"We know from our last time here (in 2021), though, that batting first is a little bit tricky, depending on the ground that you're at, so you do need to make the most of getting in if you are that set batter."

The Australian squad remained at the ground for close an hour after play, meeting first in skill groups then as a whole to dissect the day's proceedings.

But the mood was far from doom and gloom, and Haynes said their attention was firmly on the tournament ahead, which will see Australia play seven round robin matches across the next three-and-a-half weeks.

"It's just part of our normal reflection, really," she said of the post-match discussion.

"As I said, there was some good lessons from today (and we were) just generally reflecting on the two practice games that we've had, sharpening up any notes on different players and those sorts of things.

"There's some dangerous sides and tournament play is so different to a series, you have to be on your game all the time.

"The nature of the tournament too, play-travel-play, it's going to be gruelling at times.

"I think the teams that are able to deal with that the best, (who) have good fitness levels as well and are able to keep morale up, it's going to be a huge advantage."

The main positives for the day for Australia were Lanning's and Gardner's innings.

The Australia captain took time to work into her innings, scoring 19 runs from the first 41 balls she faced, but took down New Zealand's spinners – particularly star Amelia Kerr – to reach 87 from 86 before holing out.

It came after she was bowled for three in Australia's first warm-up match against West Indies on Sunday.

"I think she's been building towards it, to be honest," Haynes said of Lanning. "It's no great surprise that she's finding some good form at the right time.

"I think she's got a knack of doing that as a player.

"She batted beautifully today, I think she got a little bit of a tap on the shoulder to get on with it because she was going to be retired.

"I think given the opportunity, she probably would have batted all day to be honest."

Australia will now fly to Hamilton, where they will play England in their opening World Cup match at Seddon Park on Saturday.

"I think everyone's really ready," Haynes said.

"It's been a little bit of an odd preparation in terms of having to quarantine and then we had a bit of downtime (before the practice matches).

"But I think our group is really fresh and that's a good sign heading into what will be a physically and mentally challenging tournament.

"There's going to be some tough games of cricket, we've seen different teams put on some really good performances even in the warm-ups."

ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington. Travelling reserves: Heather Graham, Georgia Redmayne

Australia's World Cup 2022 fixtures

Mar 5: v England, Seddon Park, Hamilton, 12pm AEDT

Mar 8: v Pakistan, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12pm AEDT

Mar 13: v New Zealand, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 15: v West Indies, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 19: v India, Eden Park, Auckland, 12pm AEDT

Mar 22: v South Africa, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 25: v Bangladesh, Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

Semi-finals

Mar 30: Basin Reserve, Wellington, 8am AEDT

Mar 31: Hagley Park Christchurch, 12pm AEDT

Final

Apr 3: Hagley Park Christchurch, 11am AEDT

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports